Across the rough seas from Victoria on Monday, the end of a turbulent U.S. election campaign was just hours away and many British Columbians were watching intently to see who would become the next president.

Whether it’s Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, the outcome is bound to impact people across the province.

“We have two candidates with very different views of the world, essentially, and how this should work,” Stewart Perst, a political scientist at UBC, said Monday, the day before the election.

Perst says a Trump presidency would mean less action to combat climate change and less value placed on historic alliances.

“Mr. Trump is much more focused on a negotiation-type relationship with the rest of the world, including Canada,” Perst said.

Whoever wins south of the border will likely cause economic hardship in British Columbia.

When it comes to trade, Trump has already indicated he would impose tariffs on many Canadian products, while Harris has also indicated support for protecting U.S. products – meaning the country’s resource industries British Columbia could face challenges.

“In particular, economic sectors that could be affected by trade negotiations, such as softwood lumber or energy transportation,” Perst said.

There’s literally a lot at stake, even for players. The BC Lottery Corporation expects Tuesday’s election to be similar to the last one in 2020, where a record 16,000 online bettors in British Columbia wagered $4.5 million on the presidential race.

“We’re going to see more money bet on the 2024 U.S. election than last year’s Superbowl, so I think that speaks to the popularity of the U.S. election for betting here in B.C.,” said Matt Lee of BCLC.

As people here try to predict the outcome of a race, which looks set to be close and potentially stormy, even after the polls close Tuesday night.